Alstom to modernize P2000 light rail fleet for Los Angeles

06/06/2017

Alstom has been awarded a contract worth over €130 million ($140 million) by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO) to perform the midlife overhaul of 52 P2000 light rail vehicles (LRVs), which operate on Los Angeles’ Blue, Green and Expo lines. The scope of the overhaul includes the upgrade of major systems such as propulsion, HVAC[1], automatic train control, auxiliary power supply, brake control, communications and doors, as well as the LRV’s bogies. The overhaul is expected to allow METRO to keep the fleet in service for at least another 15 years, enhancing its comfort, availability, and reliability.

“We are delighted that METRO has recognized and selected Alstom to overhaul the P2000 fleet based on our technical proposal, as well as our past project management experience and performance. Alstom is committed to serving transit agencies on America’s West Coast, and overhauling the LRVs will allow METRO to offer high quality service to its customers,” said Jérôme Wallut, Senior Vice President of Alstom North America.

Alstom will perform the overhaul work at its Mare Island facility in Vallejo, California. This dedicated manufacturing and service facility will perform the railcar stripping, final assembly, and testing. Alstom’s Naperville, Illinois, site will provide the required engineering for the project. The first vehicles to be overhauled will arrive in Mare Island in July 2017, with the last overhauled LRVs returning to service in 2021. Alstom expects the LRV overhaul programme to create roughly 45 local jobs over the course of the contract as the company continues to invest in its Mare Island facility.

Alstom has a strong track record in maintaining and modernizing Alstom and non-Alstom built trains. The P2000 light rail fleet, built by another manufacturer, will benefit from Alstom’s over 20 years of experience in the train services business. Moreover, Alstom has extensive experience in US railcar overhaul work, with the modernization of close to 5,100 railcars for many major transit agencies, including New York City Transit, Chicago Transit Authority, New Jersey Transit, Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, Maryland Transit Administration, Amtrak, Caltrans, and the Port Authority Transit Corporation. In addition to the overhaul of the P2000 fleet, Alstom’s Mare Island site is supporting San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency with a vendor managed inventory programme; performing extensive wreck damage repairs on the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner fleet; modifying 66 Caltrans bi-level intercity passenger rail coaches, and transforming Rocky Mountaineer traditional passenger cars.